Ms. Watt-Cloutier is an environmental, cultural and human rights advocate who offers a new model for 21st century leadership. She speaks with passion and urgency on the issues of today — the environment, the economy, foreign policy, global health, and sustainability — not as separate concerns, but as an interconnected whole. Join us as she offers her insights into sustainability and how the green building sector can be part of the solution.

Upfront embodied carbon is a major source of emissions. To meet Canada’s climate targets, carbon associated with the production and transportation of construction materials must be addressed –including concrete, steel, and timber. This session will provide an overview of the embodied carbon requirements in the newly updated Toronto Green Standard. We’ll also cover other relevant policies, tools, data, methodology and best practices for managing embodied carbon and conducting whole-building life-cycle assessments.

Join an expert panel and interviewers Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk, hosts of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, as we explore two decades of building design. Learn how occupant needs are influencing green building approaches and operations.

Demand for low carbon buildings requires a rapid re-tooling of training and credentialling systems for dozens of occupations. The institutions that provide this training must navigate similar questions. How will buildings change? What do workers need to know? How do we get them ready? This session will look at programs currently on this journey and explore what it will take for industry-wide preparedness.

For Canada to achieve its carbon emissions targets, significant emission reductions in existing buildings are needed. These reductions will come from the development and acceleration of building decarbonization activity and the shift to renewable energy systems. Using results from several research studies, we’ll showcase some of the most efficient, cost-effective, and impactful ways to enable Canada’s building sector to decarbonize by 2050.

A discussion on how retrofitting properties with smart building technology can help you achieve your sustainability goals. The interactive panel will include topics such as: addressing top challenges during the retrofit process, best practices for transition planning, the short and long-term impacts of installing smart building technology, and how to measure the success of your installations.

Featuring:
Erin Walker, Director of the TELUS Smart Communities & New Growth Markets Team
Scott Dutchak, VP Corporate Real Estate, Sustainability & Environment
Geoffrey Pegg, Director of Sustainability & Environment

Moderator:
Levi Higgs, Energy Advisor, CaGBC

Recent studies have shown that achieving site net zero carbon in urban settings can be extremely challenging, from both a technically and financially perspective. This session will discuss the opportunities to work as a community towards net zero carbon, such as: district energy systems, community solar or renewable energy farms, and vehicle-to-grid and other forms of peak demand reduction.

Featuring:
Fernando Carou, Manager, Renewable Energy & Net-zero Developmemt, City of Toronto
Harry Jeffries, Senior Consultant, Leading Ahead Energy
John Rathbone, President, Rathco Engineering
Ringo Ng, Cadillac Fairview

Featuring:
Sara Karerat, Fitwel
Kelly Christensen, Black & McDonald
Scott Huffmaster, Trane
Brad Theriault, BGIS
Will Elaridi, Mitsubishi Electric

Moderator:
Chuck Nervick, MediaEdge

Continuous infrastructure improvement and upgrades are fundamental to responsible building asset management, yet standard efficiency upgrades typically deliver only minor performance gains. More needs to be done to achieve the significant emissions reductions expected from the building sector in this critical decade for climate action. This session will show how assessing high-performance upgrade options can help us supercharge building equipment and renewal activities to find deep carbon reductions.

The adoption of new green building technologies is often limited by workforce capacity issues, real or perceived. Without a strong market demand, trainers and workers can be reluctant to invest in developing the skills required to benefit from these advances in technology. This session explores approaches to technology-centered skills development and how we can close the gap on acceptance and move new technologies to the mainstream.

Corporate values are shifting towards environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) commitments. In this session, you’ll hear from industry leaders that have publicly disclosed their ESG and EDI goals. Learn how they are using green building standards, tools and certifications to champion environmental and social change in the communities they impact.

Meeting Canada’s climate targets will require commitments from developers, asset managers, designers, and governments. This panel discussion features participants who have made public commitments to zero carbon. They will share their perspective on what a zero carbon commitment means to their organizations.

Meeting Canada’s climate targets will require commitments from developers, asset managers, designers, and governments. This panel discussion features participants who have made public commitments to zero carbon. They will share their perspective on what a zero carbon commitment means to their organizations.

It’s a proven fact that green buildings are better for people, the environment, and the bottom line. This panel of experts will share how green building certification and platforms support human-focused benefits and experiences that drive value for all stakeholders.

The historic Centre Block Rehabilitation Project is the largest of its kind undertaken in Canada and one of the largest globally. This historic project includes site rehabilitation, Centre Block conservation restoration and modernization, and the design and construction of the Parliament Welcome Centre. Such an undertaking is an unprecedented opportunity to modernize Centre Block and the Parliament Hill landscape, integrating contemporary expectations of accessibility, wellness, safety, and sustainability, balanced against heritage conservation. This session will explore the sustainability vision for the Centre Block Rehabilitation, looking at existing conditions; approach, methodology and analysis; key strategies; heritage implications; targets and objectives; and lessons learned. In keeping with the zero carbon stream, the session will focus primarily on the carbon neutrality objective but will also highlight key sustainability objectives.

The rapid shift toward zero-carbon, high-performance buildings impacts every aspect of the sector, from real-estate to construction, from services offered to staff roles and responsibilities. Companies working with buildings are navigating an organizational shift as they introduce new skills, work processes, and performance metrics. This session examines the strategies employers use to build organizational capacity for high-performance buildings including engagement, training, recruiting, and change management.

For building retrofits to play a significant role in reducing real estate-driven emissions we need a coordinated approach. Tackling existing buildings in a piece meal way is cost-prohibitive and time intensive. There are new innovative programs and models available to streamline retrofit activity. Join us and learn about these new programs, including Canada Infrastructure Bank’s financing program that promotes aggregation, Special Purpose Vehicles (such as SOFIAC in Quebec) that support business with retrofit project development and implementation, and the Alberta Urban Municipalities program for efficiency and renewable projects.

This session will explore practical issues and considerations for organizations in the green building sector seeking to implement EDI strategies. Panelists, drawn from different green building segments, will discuss strategies and approaches to heighten EDI awareness and effectiveness in the workplace.

Moderator Sarain Fox will draw upon her indigenous background and, as an advocate for gender and cultural inclusion, will highlight the importance of EDI in all organizations. Through a moderated Q&A format, our panel will discuss the importance of EDI in the green building sector and how best to develop strategies to champion and incorporate EDI mandates into day-to-day operations.

Although a current minority in technology, women are emerging as some of the biggest key players within industry. Featuring a group of inspiring and fearless women within different tech industries, we’ll hear their stories of successes, while learning what it’s like to navigate the industry as a women.